Old hotel demolition could begin next week

Demolition of the old Maryland Hotel (Conklin Hotel) in downtown Hannibal could begin as early as Monday, March 11, according to Ron Bricker, project coordinator with Bricker Excavating/Demolition.

DANNY HENLEYdanny.henley@courierpost.com

Demolition of the old Maryland Hotel (Conklin Hotel) in downtown Hannibal could begin as early as Monday, March 11, according to Ron Bricker, project coordinator with Bricker Excavating/Demolition, which purchased the building last fall.“We’ll be very happy to get on it. It will be a relief to get it down,” said Bricker.Before the former hotel at 314-16-18 Broadway can come down, some important paperwork must first be secured from the Department of Natural Resources. Taking on the formidable task of getting all the necessary signatures will be Ron’s brother, Jeff Bricker.“Jeff is going to drive down tomorrow (Friday) to Jeff City. He’s going to pick up the paperwork and walk it through because they’ve been sitting on it,” he said. “If all the paperwork is approved tomorrow (Friday), it (building) is history … it’s a ghost.”Even if the paperwork was already in hand, full-scale demolition work on the building couldn’t have started because AT&T had to relocate a number of phone lines that ran through the structure. Those lines connected city hall to the outside world and also served several downtown businesses. That phone company work was only recently completed, according to Bricker.In November, Bricker indicated the building, which stands only inches from city hall, would be pulled to the inside. At the time, Bricker estimated the demolition could be wrapped up “within a week and a half to two weeks.” With late winter weather so unpredictable, Bricker says it’s hard to predict how long the demolition will take.“It will depend on the weather as to how long it takes. If it gets bitterly cold I can’t expect anybody to get up there because it’s going to be slick,” he said.